Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani: God protects Shia, Sunni brotherhood

“God protects the brotherhood and sincerity between the two groups [of Muslims], Sunnis and Shi’as, and the friendship between Sunnis and Shi’as of Iran is the pride of this country,” Ayatollah Alavi said.

SHAFAQNA- Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad-Ali Alavi-Gorgani met with Sunni scholars from the northeastern Iranian province of Golestan on Tuesday, saying: “God protects the brotherhood and sincerity between the two groups [of Muslims], Sunnis and Shi’as, and the friendship between Sunnis and Shi’as of Iran is the pride of this country.”

The revered source of emulation said that we are all proud that the Holy Quran is the guideline for our lives and that living in the shadow of the Prophet Muhammad is also an honour for both Sunnis and Shi’as. God has stated in the Holy Quran that He has sent revelations to us and has made us a community blessed with God’s mercy.

His Eminence added that the reason that God has made Muslims a blessed community and has made all other communities precede the Islamic community in order that they could be lessons for the Muslims of the world. “All that is occurring throughout the world is just a test,” he said.

Ayatollah Alavi-Gorgani pointed out that in the current era, some countries act in such a way that they have embarrassed us Shi’as, as well as Sunnis. Most Sunni scholars have expressed their shame over the actions that some countries and groups, who claim to be Islamic, have engaged in and have criticized such actions.

The renowned Shi’a scholar added that Sunnis and Shi’as have many commonalities with each other and there shouldn’t be differences created between them, adding: “However, the enemies wish to separate these two schools of thought from each other in order to increase their influence in the Islamic world.”

Referring to a hadith from the Prophet Muhammad, he explained that religion is the best thing that we should seek because religion encourages its followers to be merciful and compassionate and if a child disavows his religion, his parents have the right to disown him or her.

Ayatollah Alavi-Gorgani explained that he always explains to visiting government officials that they have a heavy burden on their shoulders and that there is also a heavy burden on the shoulders of the religious scholars, and if these two groups people work together, the nation will be able to progress but if they separate from each other, the nation will fall into problems.

Ayatollah Alavi-Gorgani called on the Sunni scholars to protect the fraternity and communion among themselves and to educate their children on this path. In Iran, due to the existence of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, who is a source of pride for us, we have many sources of emulation and they do not create problems.